Life-guard for street-cars



(No Model.)

T.EUPHRAT. --LIFE GEARD FOR STREET CARS. No; 514,749; Patented Feb. 1 3, 1 894;-

5 INVENTE] UNITED STATES PATENT LIFE-GUARD FOR STREET-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,749, dated February 13, 1894.

Application filed August 10,1893. seriamms'avss. (NomodeL) To all whom it may concern.-

- a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Darien, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Guards for Street-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to catcher attachments to street cars in front of the wheels, for catching up and preventing persons prostrated thereat from being run over by the wheels and it consists of an improved construction of and mode of attaching such catchers as hereinafter fully described reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1, is a front elevation of a streetcar with my improved catcher applied to it. Fig. 2, is aside elevation of part of a car and section of the front platform, and of the catcher attachment. Fig. 3, is a section of part of the platform and of the catcher slightly modified.

Fig. 4, is a section of part of the platform, and of the catcher showing the catcher hooked up, and suspended above the rails as it may be if desired, with means for automatically detaching the catcher by contact of the upper part of the catcher with a person.

I provide a scoop shaped catcher a, havingthe edge I), adapted to ru-nahead on the rails c, with carrying wheels or rollers 12, to roll on' the rails and supporting the scoop a little back of the edge, the back or upper part of the scoop being formed with a vertical extension e, rising in front of the dash board f, preferably to the top of it and having hooks g, for hanging the scoop the'reon detachably, so that the catcher maybe applied and removed at will, and also so that one catcher may be used for both ends of the car by shifting it from end to end as the car is to run one way or the other, handles it being applied to the pendent part 6, to facilitate handling the catcher.

The structure will preferably consist of several bent wood longitudinal bars 11, and suitable cross bars j, and a'cover of suitable flexible texture as woven wire, 70. Besides the hooks g for connecting the catcher at the top,

other hooks asl, may be employed lower down, these hooks preferably being fixed to the platform and the catcher may be connected to them by springs m, for affording a little elasticity.

It is intended to have the portion e of the attachment in front of the dash board adapted to yield and lessen the shocks to the persons falling against it, and for this purpose springs n are interposed between it and the dash board with hooks 0, to limit the forward thrust of the attachment by them, said hooks extending through holes of the dash board and hooking thereon. The springs 'n, are coiled around the hooks and the hooks and springs are fastened to the attachment.

When there is sufficient free spaceI prefer to shape the attachment so that the scoop will extend backward under the platform as in Fig. 2, with the front or forward edge reaching about to or perhapsalittle forward of the front end of the platform, but the scoop may project mainly forward of the dashboard as in Fig. 3, in case of lack of room to extend it backward under the platform.

The attachment may of course be con: structed in various different ways and the means of connecting it to the car may also be modified, and I do not limit myself in these respects, the essential feature of my invention being the life saving guard consisting of the scoop detachably connected to the car and suspended from the dash board, said catcher having ayieldin g upper portion to relieve the effects of persons having contact with it. I also propose to provide for. hooking up the lower part of the scoop away from the rails when desired, by one or more hooks p and chains or rods q, connected so as to spring the scoop in the back part, the hook or hooks engaging in holes s, in the dash board, and being so that suitable studs 15 of the upper part e, of the catcher will automatically detach said hook or hooks and let the scoop fall into the position for use whenever said upper part of the catcher receives a shock by coming in contact with a person in front of the car.

The front end of the platform will prevent the catcher from rising high enough by the stress of therods or chains for release of hooks g. When detaching the catcher by bandit will be swung forward sufficiently to permit the part under the platform to rise high enough for detaching said hooks.

I claim- 1. Tl 1e improved life guard for street cars consisting of a scoop catcher adapted to be suspended from above the bottom of the front end of the car with the front edge of the scoop on, or in close proximity to the rails near, or a little in advance of the front end of the car with the rest of the scoop extended backward under the front portion of the car substantially as described.

2. The improved life guard for street cars consisting of a scoop catcher adapted to be suspended from the front part of the car with the front edge of the scoop on, or in close proximity to the rails, with springs interposed between the front of the car and the pendent portion of the guard, and with hooks tolimit the forward thrust of thesprings substantially as described.

3. The improved life guard for street cars consisting of a scoop catcher adapted to be suspended from the front part of the car with the front edges of the scoop on, or in close proximity to the rails, and with the springs interposed between the front of the car and the pendent portion of the guard, and the part of the scoop under the car suspended by springs substantially as described.

4. The improved life guard for street cars consisting of a scoop catcher adapted to be suspended from the front part of the car with the front edge of the scoop adapted to run on, or in close proximity to the rails, with the rest of the scoop extended backward under the car also with means to raise and hook up the lower part of the scoop above the rails, and also with means for automatically unhooking and releasing said hooked up part by thrusts of contact of the upper part of the catcher with an object in front of the car substantially as described.

Signed at Darien,inthe county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, this 3d day of August, A. D. 1893.

THEOPHILE EUPI-IRAT.

Witnesses:

ALONZO WEED, EARL M. LOUNSBURY. 

